Leaving Eldorado
by hansuh
Summary: Shanks and his trusty first mate Benn arrive at the city of gold - Eldorado. Shanks meets a special boy with peculiar eyes. Shanks/Mihawk  M for the language for now


At the sundown Eldorado was truly a city of gold. Like a layered cake it went up the hills rising from the sea, chalked walls of the magnificent buildings glowing in the sun. The golden orb had just begun to set and it would still be hours until the light faded. Eldorado was a city of wealth and power, vibrant with life and history. The conquerers dreaming of gold and precious stones had founded it upon their arrival and it had grown and flourished.

Two figures roamed the streets near the busy harbour. They had arrived by ship the very morning. A storm had hit them during their journey and they were afraid that they would have to leave their small vessel behind for it had taken too much damage. A sigh escaped from the shorter figure. He was a red-headed boy - perhaps rather a young man with a childish charm about him. He had a strawhat covering his fiery hair. His companion was clearly older than him. A tall lean man with black hair secured into a ponytail.

"Well Benn ol' boy, I guess we should start looking for a new ship. We we're going to get one soon anyway..."

"Hm. The old one wouldn't last a long sea voyage even if it could be repaired. We have to wait at least a day, almost every shop is closed today."

"In the middle of the week?"

"It's somekind of religious holiday I think. Why don't we just go see the sights?"

"I hope we can find someplace with good stuff to eat and drink!"

"You know, Shanks, I always wanted to see this city. I thought all I would see would be the pictures in history books but here we are."

"This is lame, it isn't even really made of gold!"

"Did you seriously expect it would be?"  
"Well isn't 'the city of gold' supposed to be made of gold?"

"It's a methaphor. If it consoles you the insides of houses of the rich are probably lavished with it. The cathedral has some gold decorations outside but it's the interior that is unbelieveable. "

"Did you see it in a picture too?"

"No Shanks - I read it. From a book. It may come as a surprise to you but some people do read."

"I can read!"

"Yeah, the drink list in a bar."

"Jerk!"

They strolled on the streets of the city and sat a while in the central park. Even Shanks felt at home there. The city was posh but it also had a relaxing side to it. Suddenly something caught the red-head's eye. Something was brightly gleaming behind some trees. He nudged Benn.

"I see something shiny."

"...Good for you."

"Beeennnnn..." Shanks whined pitifully.

"Fine, let's go check it out."

"That's a big ass church." Stated Shanks. They were standing in front of the Eldorado Grand Cathedral with their mouths hanging open. The massive building seemed to reach the clouds. Gold, reliefs and statues decorated the surface and the stained glass windows shone like rainbows.

"...I'm slightly worried that I can't add anything to that statement." Benn said. They circled the cathedral letting out occasional oohs and aahs. Finally they entered the park behind it. It was like a scenery from a fairytale; stone arches, vines, fountains - even a bloody waterfall! Shanks and Benn didn't dare to speak fearing they would shatter the serene athmosphere. Instead they sat on a bench and just marveled at their surroundings.

"How lucky that we came here today." Shanks finally broke the silence in a soft tone.

"Yeah, this place is beautiful." his companion responded. Shanks rose from his seat.

"I'm gonna go explore a bit more." The red-head walked among the big trees and stopped to look at a small pond with fish in it. As he sat on it's edge looking around he noticed that there was a graveyard next to him, isolated with a fence. Shanks thought that it was most likely a resting place reserved for really important people. There was someone standing there, a small form between the towering ancient monuments.

Shanks bent himself to see better. It looked like it was a boy. Ravenhaired, dressed in black and red. In his small hands he was clutching primroses. The boy set the flowers on the grave before him and stood there silently for a moment before turning to leave. Shanks wanted so much to get a proper look at his face but his body wouldn't bent any more and he came tumbling down. The dark haired boy stopped for a moment to look around. He continued walking when he couldn't see anything out of ordinary and dismissed the sounds he had heard as a product of his imagination.

Shanks collected himself from the ground and decided it was time to return to Benn. He found the older man peeking through one of the cathedral windows.  
"Can't see much through the stained glass." the longhaired man said.

Shanks quickly scanned the wall with his eyes.

"Is that on open window?" he pointed above them. Soon they were climbing the vines creeping up the wall. They found themselves on the second floor. Soft singing echoed through the air and it was as if the building was humming in response. Benn and Shanks stood in awe, taking in the magnificent architectural wonder. It was truly fit to be the cathedral of the city of gold. Light poured in from the windows and it was almost as if everything was floating in golden mist.

The two men moved to the rail and looked down. The singing voices belonged to a boychoir. Boys and young men dressed in white robes sang dutifully, all holding good postures. "Rich kids" was Shanks first observation about them. There were some that had a particularly snotty air about them. Then one boy caught his attention. It was the same boy he had seen in the graveyard. He emitted something from his person that was different from the others. Shanks kept looking at the boy.

He was startled when the boy suddenly locked his eyes with his. The red-head found himself unable to tear himself away from the stare. The dark haired boy's eyes were peculiar, resembling those of birds of prey. The look in them while observing the uninvited audience was curious rather than dismayed. Then the boy dropped his gaze and resumed following the choirmaster's directions.

The two pirates took a brief tour through the monstrously large building. When their curiosity was satisfied they exited through the same window they had come from. The singing voices had disappeared and the choir was gone. When they got to the groud Benn streched his hands and yawned.

"I'm beat. I think I'm gonna head back to the inn."

"I wanna stay for a bit and check something. I won't bee long. See ya soon!" They parted and Shanks made his way back to the graveyard. He wandered among the rows and statued and tombstones. Soon he found the grave with primroses upon in. Shanks stared at it silently, trying to read the curly letters. He did know how to read but the process was still slow and the ornate style of the writing did not help.

There was a lot of text, most of it was the usual honorary babble. Ah, that was a name, probably

"Com..te..." he softly mouthed the syllables as the progressed. "Fernando Dracule Comte di Juraquille et Comtessa Alicia." Surely that couldn't be one long name? It was probably two. Who the hell would have both Fernando and Alicia as their name? Well, someone named Fernando-Alicia obviously... bless that poor creature's soul.

The letters didn't look so intimidating anymore so he started reading some of the other memorial writings nearby quietly aloud.

"I must say I have never seen anyone come to the graveyard to practice their reading skills. Isn't this a rather morbid place for such activity?" Shanks would have been startled by the voice if it hadn't flowed through the air in such a gentle manner. He turned around and saw the raven haired boy with the eyes of a hawk. He stood with eloquent posture and had a serene expression on his face as he observed the red haired boy. Shanks approached him and noted how much shorter the other boy was. 'Hee... Cute." He thought.

"I can damn well read in a graveyard if I want to." he said challengingly with a grin and crossed his arms.

"Alas, what manners." lamented the shorter boy with deadpan expression.

"Not used to being talked back to shorty?"

"You could at least feign respect towards your elders." Elders?

"Smartass kid." The boy seemes annoyed now.

"Kid? And how old might you be? Surely not quite eighteen yet."

"Sixteen and a half." Shanks announced proudly.

"Beat you by four. I'm nigh twenty." the short one said impassively and arranged his hand into victory sign.

Shanks couldn't even retort from his shock. Silence reigned for a lenghty moment.

"TWENTY? What are you a midget!" Now the small weirdo was most definitely pissed. He might have looked deceptively angelic in his pure white robe inside the cathedral but he was no angel.

"I beg your pardon!" the darkhaired boy snarled , eyes flashing dangerously. Shanks looked at him up and down, deep in thought.

"You sing in a boychoir right?"

"Yes but I fail to see the connection..."

"And you look like a kid and you sound like a kid... but I don't think you're a liar... Ok I got this figured out!" he said confidently. "You're a castrate."

The tiny monster froze. And stared. And stared. Then it exploded.

"I'm not a freaking castrate you moronic shithead! Who the hell do you think you are asshole I'm going to fucking kill you!"

Shanks hadn't thought that he could learn any more swearwords than he already did but life was indeed full of surprises. He also hadn't expected to be knocked out by a tiny demonic midget.


End file.
